Environment

INGAA and API file comments on EPA’s Proposed Rule titled �Amendments to Regional Consistency Regulations”

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions to the existing Regional Consistency Regulations are inconsistent with the authority granted to EPA in the Clean Air Act  and are therefore unlawful and should not be finalized. 

 
Congress required EPA to issue regulations that would assure consistency in its national policies and practices and to resolve inconsistencies between EPA regions. By broadly condoning inconsistency, EPA’s proposed revisions would do the opposite.
 
When EPA interprets and implements applicable requirements differently in different parts of the country, businesses suffer. Inconsistent interpretation and implementation of national requirements present an administrative burden for companies with facilities and operations in different states and different regions. Inconsistency can also create an unlevel commercial playing field. Where regulatory requirements differ from one EPA region to another, some companies can be put at a competitive disadvantage, through no fault of their own.